Foundation garment



Dec. 29, 1953 o. ERTEszEK FOUNDATION GARMENT Filed Oct. l2, A1951 NVENTR. BMM

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Patented Dec. 29, 1953 UNITED S .TAT'ES PATENT OFFICE yFOUNDATION GARMT Olga Erteszek, Los Angeles, Calif. Application october 12, 1951, 'serial o. 251;6'37

(o1. :fz-e8) 3.7 Claims.

This invention has 'to 'do with improvements 1n foundation garments Aof the girdle `arrd'combina- 'non girdle-'pantie type designed to give desired shape to the wearer by'sfelective support and con- 4finement principallyof the abdomen and hips.

The general and major v"object `of the invention is to provide an improved foundation garment construction 'having the particular advantages in addition to its economy ani simplicity, of combined selectivity and elastic eonnnementof the body portions xto be supported, together with desirable comfort and freedom for easy movement by the wearer. More specifically, the invention provides for proper shape-producing 'support 4of the abdomen with elastic confinement of the hips, while assuring the wearens 'comfort at the upper waist edge of the garment 'and y'p e'rrn'issibl'e leg movement free from the more highly 'tensioned or stretcheiesistantportions o'f the garment performing 'primarily supporting functions.

structurally, the .garment has an elastic body, preferably comprising a ply of fabric material having elastic inserts or threads rendering it elastic both horizontally and vertically, the front of the body containing a relatively inelastic, nonelastic or unidirectionally-elastic section designed to nt and support the abdomen. 'The 'invention is primarily concerned with Velastic.reinforoement of the body |ply in a manner giving the material Agreater resistance to stretching locally within areas so positioned at opposite sides ofthe less elastic `or unidirectionally elastic section as to best serve its supporting functions, while leaving the body ply elsewhere more freely flexible for the comfort and convenience of the wearer.

According to its preferred construction, the yelastic body ply is reinforced by additional plies extending angularly from oppositie sides of the central section to approximately the sides of the garment, the general course of the reinforcement plies being downwardly and outwardly above a more freely elastic area below the reinforcement, and below a more freely elastic extent of the body ply at the top of the garment. As will appear, provision may be made for a horizontally `less elastic or horizontally inelastic insert panel also in the seat of the garment, but without the reinforcement used in conjunction with the front insert, so that the seat portion has easier and comfortable stretchability.

All the various features and objects of the invention as well as the details of an illustrative embodiment will be further and clearly under- 'stood from the following description of the acPJ companying drawing, in which;

Fig. `1 isla lview"sliovvilig 'the garment infront perspective.

2 is an l'enlarge-.dfront le1eva'tiorio'f the garment.

Fig. "3 "is an enlarged section yon une 3:-3 of Fig. v`2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlargement of :the 'open ventilation seam Vbetween"the front panel and the body'of thejgarmentfand Fig. 15 is a View showing 'a variational 'form of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the garment is shown 'to be made in unit v"circular form "comprising 'an elastic body'material 'IQ secured to fron andir'ear relatively inelas c VVA'afnd pref ably horizontally non-sti'etchabl 'nt and sectf ns oi panels 'H -and 1-2. VAccOrdingto this prefev ed fonstrifction -o'f 'the vigari'iit, 'fthe body inarfal I0 cnsists fof. a single plyof `-commercially' nwn twoway'stret'ch fabric material A'cbritaining horizontal courses of rubber inserts or threads Tgiving the material a degree of elasticityappropriate for this` overall body shaping functions of the garment. As `Will be understood, thebody material I0 is elastic and stretchableboth horizontally-and ver# tically. The top and bottom edges of the gar-1 ment are shown to Vbe :finished with in=turned seams I3 and -I3. Y

The primary function of the front section f'I`I is to give abdominai support, `and to best serve this function, particularly in relation to the later "dee scribed reinforcing plies, it is shown to extend continuously from the top to the bottom of the garment with the `upper and lower edges vI4 fand I5 lof the insert secured to the body material I0 by open ventilated seams, see Fig.. 4, and converge ing Yrespectivelyto the topandfbottom edges of the garment. The panel- :II preferably is made of an elastic fabric which is stretchable vertically of the garment, While being substantially in elastic horizontally. If desired, the garment may contain a similar rear insert I2 attached to the single ply body of material I0 butA without additional reinforcement as used in conjunction with the front insert II, to afford easy conformability and stretchability in the seat.

The forward half of the garment is reinforced at opposite sides of the insert I I by a pair of under plies I6 made of the same elastic material as the body ply I 0 (with the elastic threads running horizontally) and secured thereto along seam lines I'I adjacent the insert II and along upper and lower downwardly and outwardly inclined seam lines I8 and I9, the slope of the latter being greater than the upper seam lines f- I8 so that the reinforcement plies occupy areas flaring downwardly and outwardly to seam lines 20, see Fig. 1, at substantially the medial sides of the garment. As shown in Fig. 1, the seam lines I 8 intersect the seams I4 at the waistline of the garment, leaving the body material single ply and unreinforced at 2| to lend easy conformability and full comfort about the waist.

A feature of major importance is the arrangement of the reinforcing plies I5 to give to the insert I I that degree and direction of support which will assure proper and comfortable shape maintenance of the abdomen without inhibition or discomfort in the leg movements of the wearer by reason of any excessive resistance or tensioned condition of the lower front portion of the garment. It will be noted that the lower reinforcement ply seam lines I9 extend downwardly and outwardly from the insert I I from locations substantially midway vertically of the garment, leaving unreinforced areas 2| of the single ply body material which contact the legs and by reason of relatively less resistance to stretching, permit lfree and comfortable movements of the wearer. As illustrated, the usual garters and appendages 22 and 23 may be afxed to the bottom portion of the garment. I

Fig. 5 illustrates a variational form of the invention similar in all respects to the previously described girdle, but particularly adapted to a so-called pantie-type girdle. Here the garment has leg portions 25 extending a short distance below the crotch at 26 and adapted to iit snugly about the wearers legs. The boundaries of the reinforcement plies 21 as before are defined by the angular seam lines 28 extending downwardly and outwardly from a location near the waist ,line of the garment at the vertically elastic but horizontally inelastic front panel 3I to the side seams 29, the lower seams 30 however being extended downwardly and outwardly to the bottoms of the leg portions 25.

I claim:

1.' A continuously circular essentially one-piece foundation garment comprising a single ply horizontally relatively inelastic and vertically elastic abdomen supporting front'panel extending from the top to the central bottom of the garment, a single ply of elastic horizontally and vertically stretohable material forming the body of the garment and extending from the sides of said front panel, reinforcing plies of horizontally and vertically elastic material secured to the body ply along upper seam lines extending downwardly and-outwardly from the sides of the front panel and from locations near the top of the garment, and along lower seam lines extending downwardly and outwardly from below the vertical midpoints of said panel sides to near the bottom of the garment, said body ply extending continuously along substantially the entire vertical extent of said front panel at opposite sides thereof, and extending continuously between and vertically beyond said upper and lower seam lines.

2. A garment as defined in claim 1, in which said seam lines terminate near the median sides of the garment and are interconnected by vertically extending seams.

3. A garment as denned in claim 1, in the form of a pantie girdle having leg portions formed by said body material, said front panel extending downwardly to the crotch of the garment and said lower seam lines extending to near the bottoms of said leg portions.

4. A garment as defined in claim 1, in which said front panel has upper and lower sides converging respectively upwardly and downwardly to near the top and bottom edges of the garment from locations vertically intermedia-te those edges.

5. A garment as defined in claim 1, in which said front panel has upper and lower sides converging respectively upwardly and downwardly to near the top and bottom edges of the garment from locations substantially midway between the last mentioned edges, so that said lower seam lines extend downwardly and outwardly from the lower downwardly and inwardly divergent sides of the front panel, said seam lines terminating near the median sides of the garment and being interconnected by vertioally extending seams.

6. A garment as defined in claim 5, in the form of a pantie girdle having leg portions formed by said body material, said front panel extending downwardly to the crotch of the garment and said lower seam lines extending to near the bottoms of said leg portions.

7. A garment as dened in claim 5, in which said lower seams have greater slope than said upper seams.

OLGA ERTESZEK.

References Cited in the ille of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,524,660 Kops Feb. 3, 1925 1,909,273 Hennessy May 16, 1933 2,092,900 Wipperman Sept. 14, 1937 2,283,091 Robbins May l2, 1942 2,300,153 Herbener Oct. 27, 1942 2,328,385 Mahler Aug. 31, 1943 2,338,193 McMichael Jan. 4, 1944 2,370 Jasper Feb. 27, 1945 2,384,806 Berdaoh Sept. 18, 1945 2,544,758 Jackel Mar. 13, 1951 2,583,226 Murphy Jan. 22, 1952 2,608,688 Leonard Sept. 2, 1952 

